Spirit and Mist
copyright RavenWolf 2003 THE EMPIRE OF SPIRIT AND MIST: A BRIEF HISTORY Taran Lord Ahrenic Professor Emeritus Dept. Anthropology & Sociology Imperial University The Holy City of Shur’batha The Empire of Spirit and Mist The Capital City of the Sacred Empire of Spirit and Mist, is the Holy City of Shur’batha. The Peoples of the Empire of Spirit and Mist are diverse of Race and Species. Many Identify themselves by Clan, Province or Ethnicity, and though slavery was abolished thousands of years ago 'Freman' is still a popular appellation/ identification; all are legitimate designations. To Outsiders, we are often simply 'the Imperials'. The Peoples of the Empire name themselves the Shur'bathii - variously translated as ‘the chosen of Shur’bath’ or ‘the children of Shur’bath’. The Empire so ancient a nation as to have its beginnings lost in the mists of time. And to understand anything about the Empire, one must try to comprehend the Beginning. By current reckoning, it is the Year of Our Lady 6393, and true History begins with the Embodiment, the physical incarnation of the Goddess. The Spirit of the Lady came to be given Flesh in the tiny village of Shu’ur. It is said that this place was Chosen, because small as it was, it had achieved a degree of peaceful coexistence between the disparate races and species of the land, and those that were not represented in the population, had free access, and unprecedented welcome, even the Were-Clans, the Vampyre and Daemon were welcomed. Traditionally, Shu’ur had been the site of a thousand years of battle, as it occupied a cross-roads between three great and often warring nations and a dozen or more aggressive duchies and principalities. The active attitude of peace and acceptance in Shu’ur had been born of this bloodshed and violence, and because of that very same history and the pan-species armies that had fought and died there, the People of Shu’ur now comprised of or had contact with most of the known species. The dedication to peace was absolute, to the point that Shu’ur became a neutral territory, fiercely protected, especially by those sometimes deadly creatures that were welcomed nowhere else. Eventually the common soldiers of all the surrounding nations and principalities refused, even upon pain of execution, to fight in, or trespass upon the Peace of Shu’ur, for the Healers and Priests that flocked there, would heal anyone in need, irrespective of nationality, species or creed. Excerpt from the original copy of The Song of Shu’ur: The Birth of an Empire, held in the Temple of Shur'bath, the Holy City: ''There passed in Shu’ur 369 years of uninterrupted Peace, and it came to pass, that that a terrible Army came from the north. It swept all before it; not conquering or even plundering, but destroying everything in its path, even as the locust Horde destroys everything in its path. ''All the nations fell before this Army, and none could stand their ground, let alone hold back the terrible tide. Kings fell, and generals fell, until Chaos and Fear became as a second Enemy. ''The dispossessed peoples of the lands around Shu’ur remembered legends of the Peace of Shu’ur, and the fled towards it, as a dim ray of Hope. The headless armies of the Broken Lands, fought now for their fleeing peoples, fighting as one where they had once only fought each other. The tales of heroism, of sacrifice and courage are told even now in whispers of awe, for the Terror from the north knew no Mercy, and pursued the fleeing masses with a single minded thirst for destruction, and the armies of the Broken Lands threw themselves with selfless devotion into the teeth of the Beast to buy hours and days for the escaping multitudes. ''When all who would, had arrived at Shu’ur they turned their faces outwards to face the dreadful Enemy. ''The soldiers and warriors and deadliest creatures of a hundred nations and clans and tribes, stood shoulder to shoulder and guarded the people. ''The strongest of the males and of the females, the healthiest of all the remainder, farmer and potter, healer and priest, human and other, stood shoulder to shoulder, and protected the old and the weak. ''The elders, the wyse, the crippled and weak, the infirm and the injured, the human and the other, stood shoulder to shoulder, and protected the children and babes, the cubs and the spawn. ''And the young of all the races and species, gathered together and divided amongst themselves, each as they were able, to guard the very youngest, to dart amidst their elders with water and food and weapons. ''And when the Enemy came upon the collected Peoples of the Broken Lands at the village of Shu’ur, It expected Fear, and Chaos, and Pain, but It was met with Pride and Strength and Hope and Courage, It was met with Strength and, strangely, It was met with utter Silence. ''And the Enemy roared in frustration, and the sound of it shook the very Earth. ''The Histories tell that it was begun by a Chylde Singing to quiet an even younger Chylde, an infant weeping in silence, so great was the babe’s Fear. And the older children Heard the Lullaby and took it up, old memories of Comfort lending them Courage. ''And the elders, the wyse, the crippled and weak, the infirm and the injured, the human and the other, Heard the Lullaby. A Song so old that even the oldest crone remembered her grandmother sing it to her as a child. A Song that they themselves had Sung to grandchildren. A Song so old that it was known to every creature there. And they too took up the Song, for Courage and Comfort. ''And the strongest of the males and of the females, the healthiest of all the remainder, farmer and potter, healer and priest, human and other, standing shoulder to shoulder, Heard the Lullaby. And they drew Courage from the Voices of the very oldest and the very youngest, binding together and lifting in Song. And they remembered the old who had Sung to them as children, and they remembered the babes to whom they had themselves Sung that very refrain. And the took Heart and took up the Song. ''The soldiers and warriors and deadliest creatures of a hundred nations and clans and tribes, standing shoulder to shoulder and guarded the Peoples of the Broken Lands Heard the Lullaby swell with the Voices of Thousands. Swell with Courage and Hope. Soar with Purpose and Strength. And the most lethal beings in all the many lands, Knew for whom they had Sacrificed so much, the Chyldren they Loved or Hoped for; the Elders who had raised them and who they longed to become; the diverse Peoples who were their Mates and Partners and Friends. And the most dangerous, and the most deadly creatures in all the Broken Lands, raised their Voices in a Lullaby so old that it may have been the sound that greeted the birth of the very Universe. ''And the Enemy wailed with Anger and Frustration, and sent Its terrible forces as a single mass a vile Horde, bent upon the utter destruction of all the People. ''And the People of Shu’ur did not raise their weapons, nor did their Courage fall, but their Voices Sang out as a single Voice and filled the heavens with their Lullaby. A Lullaby they knew would be their Requiem. They bent their Wills and placed within that simple Song, all the Love and Pain, all the Hope and Loss of their very Souls. ''And it came to pass, that even as the Enemy came to within bow-shot of the People, another Voice rose in Song. A single Voice that wove through the Voice of the People. A Voice that rose and fell like the tides. A Voice that evoked the silence of a winter forest and the exuberance of a waterfall. A Voice that stirred memories of hearth-fires and of passion. A Voice that aroused Love and Courage, gave Strength and Hope. A Voice that rang out like the clear chime of a bell, and yet seemed to resonate through the very foundations of creation. And the Singer’s Voice wrapped them in Her Love and Sang away the Darkness. ''And the Armies of the Enemy trembled in Fear and Loathing as the Enemy trembled in Fear and Loathing. And the Horde threw themselves in their Anger, upon the People of Shu’ur. And the People of Shu’ur, no longer of the Broken Lands, did not cease their Singing, and did not raise their weapons. And as the Enemy howled and roared the front-lines of the Horde vanished as they came within striking distance of the People of Shu’ur, and every rank behind them as they hurled themselves upon Shu’ur. ''And the Song of Shu’ur rang out unabated for a day and a night, and still the Enemy threw Itself at Shu’ur. And the front-lines of the Horde vanished as they came within striking distance of the People of Shu’ur, and every rank behind them as they hurled themselves upon Shu’ur. ''And the Song of Shu’ur rang out unabated for a second day and night, and still the Enemy threw Itself at Shu’ur. And the front-lines of the Horde vanished as they came within striking distance of the People of Shu’ur, and every rank behind them as they hurled themselves upon Shu’ur. ''And the Song of Shu’ur rang out unabated for a third day and night, and still the Enemy threw Itself at Shu’ur. And the front-lines of the Horde vanished as they came within striking distance of the People of Shu’ur, and every rank behind them as they hurled themselves upon Shu’ur. And as the Moon rose at midnight of the third Night, the last remnants of the Horde broke and ran, and those that were not consumed by the Enemy, ran until they returned from whence they had come. And the Enemy’s howl became a distant sound as It to retreated, mortally wounded by the Song of Shu’ur. ''And the People of Shu’ur became Silent, and turned as One to the centre of their assemblage, to the shining Light that still Sang the Lullaby. And as they fell to their knees with Weariness and in Pain, the Singer filled them with Warmth, and with Gentle Strength. She took from them the Pain and the Exhaustion, the shadow of Fear and the numbing Horror. She Lifted their Spirits and set they Joys Soaring. ''She was Shur’bath, Goddess Incarnate, Singer, Protector. ''She bathed Shu’ur with Her Love, Nurtured it with Her Grace and Sang it Healing. Her Light spread slowly outwards from Shu’ur, now called Shur’batha. And the little village of Shu'ur became the Holy City of Shur’batha, and the People of the Broken Lands, the People of Shu’ur, became the Shur’bathii, the Empire of Spirit and Mist. And Our Lady, the Empress and Goddess watches over us still. And the Lullaby that Called Her to Us is still Sung to drive away the Darkness. category:Nations